Denny Hamlin will start first at Talladega
Denny Hamlin is starting first again. Will he end the race in first too?
NASCAR's dominating points leader will lead the field to green at Talladega on Sunday (2 p.m ET, Fox) as he looks for his first win of the season. Hamlin has an 81-point lead over teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the points standings but is not one of the eight drivers who has gotten wins over the first nine races of the 2021 season.
Hamlin's got a decent shot (again) at getting a win on Sunday. He won at Talladega in the fall and is the betting favorite entering the race. Hamlin has finished in the top four in four of the last five races at Talladega.
Joey Logano starts second and Truex is third. William Byron will start fourth and Richmond winner Alex Bowman will start fifth.
With no practice or qualifying ahead of Sunday's race, NASCAR's qualifying formula was used to set the lineup. The formula consists of a driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent), the car owner’s finishing position from the previous event (25 percent), where the team is in owner points (35 percent) and the driver’s fastest lap from the previous race (15 percent). The driver with the lowest combined number starts first.
Here's the starting lineup for the race. A full 40-car field is expected for the first time since the second race of the season.
Starting lineup
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Joey Logano
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. William Byron
5. Alex Bowman
6. Christopher Bell
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Chase Elliott
9. Kyle Busch
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Austin Dillon
12. Kyle Larson
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. Aric Almirola
15. Kurt Busch
16. Kevin Harvick
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. Ross Chastain
19. Daniel Suarez
20. Tyler Reddick
21. Chris Buescher
22. Erik Jones
23. Michael McDowell
24. Bubba Wallace
25. Chase Briscoe
26. Corey LaJoie
27. Cole Custer
28. Ryan Newman
29. Ryan Preece
30. Anthony Alfredo
31. BJ McLeod
32. Quin Houff
33. Cody Ware
34. Justin Haley
35. Joey Gase
36. Josh Bilicki
37. JJ Yeley
38. Kaz Grala
39. Harrison Burton
40. Timmy Hill
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